Condensing system



Nov. 27 1923. 1,475,242

- w. H. PHILLIPS CONDENSING SYSTEM Filed Feb. 19 1921 WILL H. PHILLIPS,or CHICAGO, ILLINOI ETEDISTATESCPAJTENT orsi.;

S, ASSIGNOR TO WOR'IHINGTON PUMP AND MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK,N. Y., A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA;

oonnnnsme sYs'TEM.

- Application filed February 19, 1921. Serial No. 446,382. I

To all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that I, WILL H. PHILLIPS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, county of Cook, andState of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Condensing Systems, fullydescribed and represented in the following specification and theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

The present invention relates to anim-' proved apparatus for the controlof con densing steam engine systems.

In operating a condensing steam engine it is necessary to remove the airfrom the condenser. If the engine, condenser-and connections are airtight, the airto be removed from the condenser is only that which, ac--companying the steam from the boiler, passes through the engine with thesteam and escapes from the water of condensation in the condenser. Ihave found that under normal operating conditions the averag amountofsuch air entering the condenser is about proportional to the amount ofsteam used. Hence by continuously metering the air as it is dischargedfrom the condenser it is possible to determine the operating conditionof the system. So long as the amount of air discharged from thecondense-r is approximately normal, the condition of the engine,condenser, connections, and pump may be considered as normal, but anyincrease above the normal of the air discharge from the condenser, is anindication that a leak [has developed in the system, or some otherabnormal condition has arisen.

It "is very important that the engineer in charge of the system shouldhave immediate notice of such abnormal condition and it is the purposeof my present invention to provide means whereby such notice will begiven promptly.

With this object in view, my invention comprises the addition to acondensing steam engine system of means for remov ng the air from thecondenser and dlscharging 1t,

and continuously acting means for determining the rate of discharge ofthe. air.

The means for removing the air from the condenser may be of varioustypes but pref erably comprises: that type of air pump called ahydraulic pump or liquid thrower, one example of which type isdisclosedin U. S. Letters Patent 1,031,143 "to Mueller, dated July 2, 1912, andthe invention will such "inside the tank, as shown. A

be illustrated as applied in connection a pump.

The invention will first be described in connection with theaccompanying drawings and then'more particularly pointed out in theclaims.

In the drawings,-

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view partly in'section of an apparatusembodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a detail section on a larger scale of the dome portion ofthe sealing tank; and

Figure 3 is a plan view of the dome.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, A represents a surface condenserhaving a hot well B from which the water of condensation is removedthrough pipe 1 by any suitable means, as, for example, the centrifugaldischarge pump C. The air and uncondensed vapor are drawn off throughpipe 2 by suitable air removing mechanism. As illustrated in thedrawings, the air-removing mechanism is a hydraulic air discharge pumpor compressor D, such as is fully shown and described in the UnitedStates with Letters Patent to Mueller hereinbefore menthe circulatingpump E takes its liquid sup 7 ply through a pipe 5 connected to the tanknear its bottom. The tank F is provided ;with suitable means formaintaining an airspace above the liquid level in the tank. In the formof the apparatus shown in Fig. 1

draw ofi' pipe 6, having a cock 7, controlled by a float 8.

The pipe 6 extends downward water gauge 6 may also be provided.

' The tank is supposed to be supplied ini-. tially with water to a levelabove the lower end of the discharge nozzle 4. The liquid levelinitially provided would remain constant if no additional liquid enteredthe tank, but because the pump D withdraws vapor as-well as air from thecondenser. this vapor will be condensed inthe tank F and tend to raisethe water level. The float valve serves to prevent this change of waterlevel and this insures a constant'air space in the tank F above itswaterlevel and a conthis may be accomplished by providing a v :Ggl icharge nozzle a. The tank Ff-may also he stant head of water on the endof the disprovided with anlinlet pipe 9 for makeup water which pipe isprovided with a manually operable valve 9, and a water sealed overflowpipe 30 permits'the large escape of air discharged in. starting.

The tank is provided with means for con tinuously discharging the airfrom the space above the water level and for continuously determiningthe rate of d scharge of such air.

While various devices for making this determination maybe employed, suchas,

for example, an ordinary flow meter, in the preferred embodiment of theinvention shown, an orifice meter is used, and the tank F is providedwith a domeG on top ot the tank and open to the air space thereot Thecap of the dome has a circular raisedportion indicated at lOiat thecenter of which is fixed an upwardly extending stud 11 screwthreaded atits upper end. on this, stud is journaled a rotatable orifice-plateI-Ihaving a series of orifices of dliierent areas.

In Fig. 3 oi the drawings these or fices 12 are shown as circular andarranged in a series gradually increasing from the smallest orifice tothe largest, the centers of the ori fices lying on the circumference ofacircle whose center is the axis of the stud-11.

The orifice plate II is arranged to be forced against the cap of thedome by any suitable means. In the embodiment shown,

the upper end of the stud 11 is provided with a nut 13, convenientlyprovided with a handle 14, and between the nutandthe orifice plate Hisplaced a helicalcompres sion spring 15, surrounding the stud 11. In

order to make an air-tight joint between the orifice plate and the capg, asuitable gasket 16 may be provided if desired, being;

secured to the cap of the dome.

The cap 9 is provided with a single orifice indicated at 17, Fig. 2,whose area is not less,-and advantageously somewhat greater;

than that of the largest orifice the orifice plate, thecenter of thisorifice. 17 being so located that the center of any desiredorifice )r'the orifice plate may be brought into alignment with the orifice 17 byrotating the .orifice plateI'I. The gasket 16, ofcourse, has

The dome G is;provided suitable means forindicating thepressure andtemperature of the air withintlie dome.

In the drawings, the means for indicating v the pressure comprises an]ordinary, manomsource.

vided with the usual-graduations;

It' will be noted that thea-ir tromthe tank F can escape only throughthat orifice in the" orifice plate which is at such time in alinenentwith thecholein the cap 9 of the dome. Eventlie largest orifice ofthe orifice plates allows only a throttled discharge; of

th ai tromthe tank, so thati egu a opera ation there will besomepressure, though per,-

haps only a, slight Y one in the dome. Tlh'ci amount of this pressuremayheregulated by rotatingthe-orificeplate H to bring any de,

sired crifice into operatiqn By reading the pressure thermometer scale,the operator Inayatonce' determine the rate of, discharge 0t air fromthe tank F. In order that he 1nay1n0tbe compelled to rely onvhisniemory, a suitable y from the, ma; nometer' scale and thetemperature from the;

table may be provided for reference ,lnwhich table the rate of dischargemay be shownior temperatures andpressuresfwhich will ordi narily occurin practice, and for each orifice, of the orifice plateI-I.

In order to reduce or eliminate thetern; perature variable, the water inthe tank may be maintained at as nearly a constant tern,- perature as isvpossible in practice This may be done by lettingin makeupg watfer from;

time to time, or if desired allowingfla slight constant flow of make-upwater into, the tank, the float valve seryingfto maintain,

the waterlevel, by permitting a constant dischargecorresponding to theinflow of make; up water. I

through the tank]? thus forcing; it; to pass in contact with the coolingtubess These I tubes may conduct cooling water from any; In the usualcondenser systems the cooling tubes may be arranged. inpara lel withthe, first-pass tubes of the main-i con-j v denser. a similar hole inregister with the orifice g It will be apparent that with any given Whendesired the tank F maybeprovided, h, special, ling i s-1 I n th -ex mp eshown in Fig. '1 the tankF is; provided :Witli; a plurality. of; coolingtubes indicated];at19 and with baffle,plates?0 arrangedto cause asuitable convoluted flow of. the Water;

tice theoperator will remember the normal pressure readings, so thathewill immediate ly notice any unusual variations of; pressure,

thus detecting quickly change of operating conditions due to leakage inthelsystein The orifices of the orifice; plate are given dif feringconvenient areas so that the pressure w thin the tanks maybe kept withina certain range. The pressure and. temperature readings, as Well as theorifice in use, may be indicated and recorded at the engine gauge boardby any suitable means, if the location of the engine relatively to thecondenser is such as to make this desirable, which usually will be thecase in large systems.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination, with a condenser, and means for continuouslyremoving and dis charging the air from the condenser, of continuouslyacting means for determining the rate of discharge of the air.

2. The combination, with a condenser, and means for discharging theWater of condensation therefrom, of means for separately and continouslyremoving and discharging the air from the condenser separately from theWater of condensation, and continuously acting means for determining therate of dis charge of the air.

3. The combination, with a condenser, ofmeans for removing air andvapors from the condenser, means for continuously condensing the vaporsand discharging the air, and continuously acting means for determiningthe rate of discharge of such air.

4. The combination, with a condenser and a tank having an air dischargeoutlet arranged to throttle the air discharge and thereby maintain anair pressure in the tank, of means for discharging the air from thecondenser into said tank, and means for determining the temperature andpressure of the air in the tank.

5. The combination, With a condenser, of a tank having an air dischargeoutlet, a hydraulic air pump arranged to discharge air from thecondenser to the tank, means for circulating Water from the tank to thepump, an air-pressure indicator and a thermometer connected to the tank,and means for varying the size of the air-discharge outlet of the tankin predetermined steps.

6. The combination, With a condenser, of a tank having an air dischargeoutlet, a hydraulic air pump arranged to discharge air from thecondenser to the tank, means for circulating Water from the tank to thepump, an air-pressure indicator and a thermometer connected to the tank,means for varying the size of the air-discharge outlet of the tank inpredetermined steps, and means for cool ing thewater in the tank.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

WILL H. PHILLIPS.

